Correre Verso il Cielo
by RikuRoyalty
Summary: Flight, like many things, was impossible for a ten-year-old Tsuna. That was until he met someone who was willing to teach him.
1. Prologue

**Me: This is a test run of sorts. I have been thinking about this crossover ever since I started re-watching Katekyo Hitman Reborn. With the Italian ancestry somewhat ingrained in both story-lines, I wanted to bring them together. Let me know what you think of it before I decide to post more.**

* * *

"It's Dame-Tsuna!"

"Hey Dame! Why can't you do anything right?"

"Idiot~ Idiot~ Dame-Tsuna's just an idiot!"

_Tears are salty_, was the only thought Tsuna really had as he just looked at his tormentors emotionlessly. _I don't want to cry because I don't want to taste that saltiness._ Such depressing thoughts for a ten-year-old. Dragging his body away from school, the brunette decided to head a different route. Maybe they won't find me this time. Of course, this was wishful thinking. His tormentors always found him, even if he took a different direction home. After all, he was 'No Good Tsuna'.

"There he is!" With those three words, Tsuna's legs prompted him into running away. He winced as weight was put onto his left leg, the bruise that he earned from being late to school, courtesy of one Hibari Kyouya, slowed him down considerably. If he didn't think fast, those bullies would catch up to him sooner rather than later. Turning a corner, quickly so that no one noticed him and hiding behind a dumpster, Tsuna waited until the footsteps faded before allowing himself to breathe. Shivering slightly in fear, the brunette peeked out from his hiding place, scrunching his nose at the foul scent of garbage that was all around him.

"Not bad, kid." Startled, the brunette looked around for the random voice, only not to see anything. "Up here." Following the voice's command, Tsuna looked up at a dark figure sitting on the ledge of a fire-escape balcony, two-stories up. Fear clouded his judgement of the figure, yet despite that and the bad lighting, the ten-year-old could still make out baggy jeans, a white sweatshirt and black fingerless gloves. He couldn't tell if it was male or female, but by the accent Tsuna could tell they weren't from Namimori.

Now that Tsuna could see his company, he furrowed his brows in confusion at the figure's words. "What do you mean 'not bad'?" All he had done was run away, the cowardly thing to do. He briefly wondered if his father would be disappointed in him for running away before pushing that thought away. It didn't do to think about people who were barely there.

Getting up from his/her position, the figure jumped across the alleyway, using a foot to propel his/herself down safely. Barely containing a shriek, Tsuna pushed himself back to the grimy wall behind him. The figure didn't seem to take any notice, instead opting to sit on a crate across from the poor boy. "You were quick on your feet and were able to get rid of your pursuers right away, I'd say that takes talent."

Feeling his heart in his throat, Tsuna felt the sides of his eyes tear up in happiness. He . . .he had talent? Everyone, even his own mother, had called him Dame at one point or another. Yet, this stranger, had said he had talent! Granted, it was in running away, but it still made him feel happy.

"O-oi! Kid, what's wrong?!" Hands were raised in concern as the figure was up on his/her feet, fretting over the child in front of them. If anything, this made Tsuna even more happy. Rare was it was he was shown such concern and it sounded so genuine that he couldn't stop the tears from rolling down his cheeks.

Feeling the sudden need to explain, Tsuna tried to speak, "N-no one h-has c-c-called me t-talented b-before!" Using his free arm to wipe away the tears, Tsuna didn't notice the stilling of frantic hands and the dejected slump of shoulders.

A sigh was heard before Tsuna felt a hand on top of his head, ruffling his hair in a calming manner. "Are you being bullied?" The boy stilled, unsure of how to answer. He didn't want to lie to the stranger, but at the same time he didn't want to appear weak. It was a strange feeling, seeing as how he looked nothing but weak by his peers. Still, this person was kind to him in a way that no one in Namimori had been before, not even his parents, as such, he shouldn't lie to him. Not trusting his voice, Tsuna only nodded.

The figure sighed, "C'mon kid, crying doesn't fix anything." Pausing for a second, the man/woman hummed in his/her throat. "On second thought, it does get people's attention so . . .ah nevermind! Just . . .please stop crying?"

Tsuna shook his head violently, "B-b-but I'm t-trying! I-I'm n-not even s-sad! W-why am I-I c-crying?" Unable to really stop his own shaking, Tsuna just stood there, wiping his eyes continuously in a futile attempt to rid of any tears. His blunt fingernails dug into the sides of his cheeks and his wild hair ruffled itself in whatever wind it could catch. Suddenly, Tsuna couldn't feel the lightness of his hair anymore as an unfamiliar weight made its way on his head.

Strong arms wrapped around him awkwardly, one hand on his head and the other patting his back. Streams of salty water stopped as confusion settled into the forefront of his mind. Now that he was up close to the figure, Tsuna could tell that it was undeniably male. The man wasn't holding him too close, but just enough to give him a feeling of comfort. Before Tsuna could really ask what was going on, the figure let go of him.

"So, uh, sorry about that kid. But, do you feel better?" Tsuna paid attention to the voice, nodding absentmindedly as he noted that the accent actually didn't sound Japanese at all. With the brunette's mental and emotional distress fading, he could actually take in details he neglected to before.

Although the man's clothes were clean, there were odd creases, almost like he had been roughed up or had been running for a long time. His hood was up, concealing his face except for a scar across the right side of his lip. His gloves were made of leather and reached his elbow, rolling his sleeves up to make room. The front part of his white sweatshirt was zipped halfway down, revealing a plain black shirt. There was also a tattoo peeking out from under his gloves. (Tsuna couldn't see it completely, but it looked really cool.) His skin also held a much darker hue than the average Japanese, confirming the ten-year-old's suspicions about him being a foreigner.

"Hey . . . ." the man grabbed Tsuna's attention once more with a slight shake of his shoulder. The man crouched down to meet the brunette's height, letting the light shine just right so that the boy had no chance in glancing at his face. "What's your name, kid?"

Startled, Tsuna was unsure of how to answer. He was used to everyone in Namimori knowing who he was, as he had reluctantly gained a reputation being the most Dame person in down. Did he tell the stranger his full name? Or maybe his nickname? "T-Tsunayoshi," The boy compromised, not giving up his last name.

"Tsunayoshi? That's kind of a mouthful, do you have a nickname?" The words were sincere and as he didn't ask for his last name, so Tsuna obliged him.

"I-It's Tsuna." The boy lowered his head on impulse and shuffled his feet in worry. Would the stranger make fun of his name?

There was a chuckle emitted from the person in front of him. It sounded relieved, almost like the person wasn't expecting him to answer, "Well, Tsuna-kun, my name is Mamoru. Friends call me Moru."

Tsuna hesitated, the feeling in his chest was buzzing. It was equivalent to whenever his father said something about his 'work' that Tsuna could never bring himself to believe. Bravely, he spoke up, "That's . . .not your real name, is it?" Blushing in embarrassment, Tsuna glanced up at the figure wondering if he was angry.

Once again, there was a chuckle, although it was much more dejected than before, "Yeah, no. I . . .choose a Japanese name because a lot of people here have trouble pronouncing my real name."

Curiosity peaked, Tsuna lifted his head a little more, "W-what's your real name?"

A sigh left Mamoru's lips, "It's Desmond."

Big brown doe eyes blinked at the name. He rubbed his tongue on the roof of his mouth, tasting it before trying to say it. Desmond gave a hearty laugh at the failed attempt, correcting Tsuna's pronunciation here and there until he got it down. Scrunching his nose in frustration, Tsuna huffed, "I think I like 'Mamoru' better."

"Pff, you and all my co-workers. Ah! Which reminds me, I gotta get to work soon."

Pouting, Tsuna looked up at Desmond with slightly watery eyes and quivering hands. "W-will I ever see you again?" Yes, the boy knew he was looking slightly pitiful, but the man had been so nice to him.

Rubbing the back of his head with his right hand, Desmond sighed. "I live around here, so I don't see why not. Problem is I work at night, and you're at school during the days." Lifting his other hand to point at the fire escape he had jumped down from, Desmond continued, "Tell you what, I live right here. If you need to get away from the bullies right after school, I'll be here. My shift starts around five but ends at two in the morning, so just be here before then and we should be good."

Tsuna nodded. As long as he didn't get detention then he could come back and visit Desmond! Bouncing a little, the young boy picked up his bag, looking at the figure in slight wonderment. Dashing out of the alley, Tsuna looked back at the man who had effectively given him hope. The hooded figure was waving him a goodbye and the brunette could make out a slight smile on scarred lips, "See you later, Mamoru-nii-chan!"

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**Me: Yes, yes, yes, it's Desmond. I dunno why, but I think out of all the Assassin's Creed main characters, Desmond can relate to Tsuna the most. Always put down for being the weakest, forced into a situation they didn't want, strong Italian roots ect, ect. Furthermore, I can see Desmond being the best with kids. It's a bit of a headcannon, but it's easy to imagine him playing with all the children at the Farm and skiving off on his chores or training or something.**


	2. To Fall

**Me: Mah~ This story is just in my head too much~ I'll probably be working on this for a bit before moving on to my older fanfictions. With that to note, this is mostly my . . .leisure-time fanfiction, I guess you could say. Still, I think the story is going well in my mind. Hm~ I wonder how the Future Arch would go~.**

* * *

Three weeks had passed with Tsuna successfully avoiding the bullies and Desmond entertaining the kid for a few hours a day. The young brunette couldn't be happier. Not only did he not get beat up as often (there was still the occasional tussle with Hibari), he had a Nii-chan.

Desmond had proved to be a good older brother when Tsuna had been sitting on his couch, staring at the workload in front of him. His homework had piled up with the upcoming tests and poor Tsuna couldn't understand half the things that he was supposed to complete. Frustrated, the spiky-haired brunette huffed and laid on the couch in a frustrated manner.

"What's wrong?" Desmond asked, slightly curious as to why the normally cheerful boy would be this irritated. The man was wearing a dark blue t-shirt today with the outline of an eagle splattered across the back. It was this collection of shirts that Tsuna really liked about Desmond. They were all different (some containing English words across the front) but they all suited him. Also, the older man never seemed to change his pants, opting for jeans all the time.

Huffing once more, Tsuna gestured to the pile of homework he was to complete, "My teachers are mean." Picking up a random sheet of problems he was to complete, Tsuna sighed. He was too. . .too . . .too Dame to complete any of this. Just as he was about to put the sheet down, a tanned hand reached over his shoulder and snatched it away.

"Hm," Desmond hummed thoughtfully as he looked over the questions in his right hand. His left absentmindedly rubbing his chin, "Right." Coming around to sit next to Tsuna, the man reached out for a piece of notebook paper and a pencil. "Now, this isn't too hard if you remember the -"

The evening continued with Mamoru teaching Tsuna some of the basic math problems he had been given. Much to Tsuna's relief, Desmond didn't berate him when he got something wrong or when he didn't understand something. Instead, he patiently corrected him or would give him a second explanation. "After that, it's just plugging in the numbers. Just gotta remember the formula." Nodding absentmindedly, Tsuna began working on the second half of the problems with much more ease than if he were to work on them himself. "Oh, s- . . .crap. Tsuna, I gotta go to work and I bet your parents are probably worried about you."

The boy hesitantly nodded in response. He hadn't told Mamoru much about his home life. It was a general assumption on the man's part that he had two parents waiting for him at home, not that Tsuna could blame him. He didn't want to worry his new older brother more than he already did and telling him that his mother wouldn't notice him coming home until late or that his father was never around would do just that.

Gathering up his things, Tsuna paused at the door, glancing over at Desmond, who was busy buttoning up his bartender's vest. In a spur of the moment decision, Tsuna hugged the man for all he was worth, earning himself a surprised grunt in response. Quietly, Tsuna whispered a "Thank you," into the man's chest. Before Mamoru could properly respond, Tsuna bolted out the door with a blush splattered across his nose and cheeks.

* * *

Desmond stood in the middle of his kitchen, shocked at the actions of the boy he had inadvertently made his younger brother. Slowly, the retreating back of Tsuna bled into a more familiar form of a frail Petruccio. Shaking his head and cursing to himself, Desmond tried to bring him out of those . . .memories.

Hands shaking, Desmond grabbed his wallet and keys, locking all his doors and windows before climbing out through the fire escape. It wasn't much, but running through the rooftops always helped to lessen the amount of ghosts he saw.

* * *

He wasn't fast enough today.

Tsuna suspected that it was his ankle. He was ten minutes late to school today, earning him a beating from an irritated Hibari and thus a sore and sprained ankle. This slowed him down much more than the bruised leg he sported three weeks ago.

They had cornered him in an alley, the same alley where Tsuna had met his Nii-chan. Of course, the same method he used before didn't work this time and they had dragging him out from behind the dumpster.

Unlike the previous beatings, however, Tsuna found newfound strength in hopes of breaking away from the bullies. He knew that because of this little act of rebellion he would be punished more severely, but he couldn't help it. Ever since he had met Mamoru-nii-chan, Tsuna had grown a fascination of the pure strength that he seemed to radiate. Like most other little boys his age, Tsuna had found his role model. He found the person he wanted to grow up to be.

This led him to fighting back, however pitiful his attempts were. Still, his efforts were in vain as one of the bullies simply held him back by his arms and the other punched his gut. Doubling over in pain and shock, Tsuna cried out unconsciously, trying to move his arms and protect his midsection better. The bully only tightened his grip on his arms, forcing him on his feet even though all Tsuna wanted to do was curl up in a ball. As another punch came flying, big brown eyes shut themselves tight at the incoming pain.

. . . .Only it never came.

Opening his eyes a little bit, Tsuna peered at the scene in front of him. A hooded figure had a hand on the fist of the bully. Recognizing who it was the brunette felt immense relief, only to stop and observe the man towering over all three boys.

Desmond's normally cheerful chocolate-brown eyes were a glowing golden. The scar on his lip was even more pronounced with the lighting of the alleyway. His face, which Tsuna would usually see a teasing smile, held a thoughtful frown. His left arm wasn't being used at the moment, but the small brunette could see his fingers twitching, as if he was about to use it against the bullies.

"M-Mamoru-nii-chan?" Tsunayoshi asked in a timid voice, unsure if this really was his nii-chan. Golden eyes found his and for a moment Tsuna could see them soften before turning their attention to the two other boys.

Twisting the boys fist, Desmond brought his arm to behind his back in a painful position. The other boy had dropped his hold on Tsuna and was now backing away slowly. "Now I suggest . . . ." Mamoru's voice held a heavier, different accent. It was . . .rougher than before, but was able to pronounce the Japanese off his tongue more fluidly. "That you boys run along. Your families must be so worried about you." He let go of the boy in front of him, letting him run along with his friend to the other end of the alley. "Oh and," the volume of his voice wasn't raised all that much, just enough to get the other two boys attention. It was the tone that made them stop in their tracks, the nonchalant feeling with an undertone of a threat was chilling, "if I ever catch you bullying my little brother ever again . . .well, let's just say that gives me permission to start taking your fingers as punishment~."

Both boys looked back and nodded before scurrying off around the corner. Tsuna was frozen in fear, unsure of how to take this new side of his nii-chan. Sweat was dripping from his forehead in an effort to not appear too frightened. "Tsuna." Jumping at his name, the boy looked at Desmond, who now help his cheerful eyes and amused smile. Although, now that he looked, Tsuna could see a large amount of sadness behind those eyes.

Sighing, Desmond scratched the back of his head in thought, "I . . .understand if you don't want to see me again after this." Tilting his head in confusion, Tsuna silently asked for confirmation. "I scared you didn't I?" Shaking his head furiously, Tsuna looked up at Desmond with a silently pleading expression. The man only chuckled, "It's alright. I can tell. I scared you and for that, I'm sorry." Glancing down at Tsuna's leg, Desmond found himself wanting to help the boy, but didn't want to scare him off at the same time.

"N-Nii-chan?" Startled at being address as 'big brother' still, Mamoru looked at Tsuna with puzzlement. "I-I'm n-not scared o-of y-you." The small brunette's stuttering reflected his fear, but his willingness to talk to Desmond astounded the man. "I-I was o-only scared o-of t-the bullies." Looked down at the ground in embarrassment, Tsuna whispered, "You protected m-me from t-them right? T-thank you."

A little startled at Tsuna's change in attitude, Desmond couldn't help the warm smile that crossed his face. Looking down at him, the man decided something that he never thought he would do in all his years. "Neh, Tsuna, how would you like me to teach you how to defend yourself from those bullies?"

Head snapping up, spikes bouncing wildly, Tsuna looked at Desmond with a hopeful expression, before looking back down in embarrassment. "R-really?" Dreams of being able to not be beat up were going through his mind. Tsuna knew that the teasing of being Dame-Tsuna would never go away, but if he could at least get away from the physical abuse, he would be happy.

Mamoru smiled gently at the boy, putting a hand on his head and ruffling his hair into an even greater mess then it was before. "First, let's get you patched up. That ankle can't be comfortable to stand on, much less walk on." Nodding, Tsuna braced himself for a painful journey up a flight of stairs (Desmond's apartment building didn't have an elevator) until he felt a pair of arms lift him and shift him onto Mamoru's back. "Hang on tight." Blinking in confusion, Tsuna felt Mamoru climb the fire-escape, jiggling the poor boy and causing him to shriek out "HIE!" Until they made it to the apartment.

It was at that moment that Tsuna realized that his big brother was really reckless and probably insane.

* * *

**Me: Desmond is twenty-seven in this fic BTW. Yes, he had been through all three major ancestors. I have a back-story that will come to light much, much later. So be patient~!**


	3. To Wish For the Truth

**Me: Time-skips are really fun. Whoa, and this chapter longer then I intended it to be. Well, hope you enjoy.**

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~_One Year Later~_

* * *

Grinning from ear to ear, Tsuna dashed his way from school, vaulting over a few fences while simultaneously looking out for any curious onlookers. Despite the rise in his abilities, Tsuna found that he didn't enjoy attention. True, he wanted friends and he wanted people to stop calling him Dame, but at the same time he didn't want to be bothered because of his parkour nor good grades.

So, he did the best thing Mamoru taught him. He hid in plain sight. By continuing to get bad grades and seemingly failing at everything, the most attention Tsuna got was being labeled as a 'no-good' person. Usually he would walk home the normal way, opting to hide his abilities as he would 'stumble' home.

Today, however, was a special day.

Racing up to the run-down apartment, Tsuna paused only to dig for his keys. Inserting them and twisting the lock, the brunette yelled out, "Happy Birthday!" almost tripping on his feet as he took off his shoes in the process.

Looking around the empty apartment, Tsuna furrowed his brow in confusion. It wasn't often that Mamoru was out, even less so for him to not leave a message on the door or text him beforehand. His nii-chan's voice was ringing in his ears, '_If a situation doesn't look right, then try to put the pieces together. Observe, don't just jump in. Observe from somewhere high up preferably.' _Well, seeing as there wasn't anywhere to climb comfortable, Tsuna ruled that out. Instead, his eyes zoomed in on the discarded clothes on the livingroom floor. It was Mamoru's bartender uniform.

Coming in a bit closer, Tsuna saw dark red splatters across the white shirt. The black vest was missing a few buttons while the matching pants were untouched. Picking up the shirt and smelling the splatters, Tsuna reeled his head back at the rustic scent. Blood. Following the trail of clothes to the bathroom, Tsuna cautiously peeked in, just in case someone was in there.

To his immense relief, no one was inside, but the light was still on. Puzzled, Tsuna's eyes zeroed in on the first aid kit on the bathroom counter. It was open and had some bloody towels on the side of the sink. Tsuna didn't feel alarmed at the sight, only thoughtful. There were no obvious signs of struggle, so that must mean that his nii-chan either got into a fight before he came home or brought someone who was injured home.

Satisfied with his deduction skills, Tsuna made his way to the bedroom. Cracking open the door, the brunette was greeted with the sight of a Mamoru in black pajama pants and white t-shirt. His hoodie was discarded on the ground, forgotten among the other articles of clothing around his bed.

Grinning a bit, Tsuna made his way over to a discarded pillow, careful not to wake the older man up. With a cheshire cat's smile, the eleven-year-old boy smashed the pillow on top of Mamoru's head. Mamoru bolted straight up, grabbing the pillow as if it were a person and hold his left wrist up to it.

Tsuna couldn't see, as the room was too dark, but he heard a tell-tale ripping of fabric, indicating that Mamoru must of had a knife on him. Gulping slightly at his brother's paranoia, Tsuna thanked whatever Gods were up there that that pillow was not him.

"_Dammit Malik! I thought I told you never to wake me up by-" _Mamoru stopped his rant abruptly at the sight of Tsuna. Chocolate eyes narrowed, briefly flashing gold before returning to normal. Tsuna stood still, shaking a bit at the sight.

This wasn't the first time Tsuna had encountered one of Mamoru's 'moods'. Whenever they were training in free-running, Mamoru would assume a stoic expression and give very curt responses, but at the same time it was peaceful. Like he would never expect more from you then you could give. It was nice being with Mamoru when he was like that, almost like having a very strong pillar to lean on.

Whenever it was hiding, or masking yourself in a crowd, Mamoru would become playful. Dangerously so. He would often try to expose Tsuna to bullies whenever he was hiding during training. Of course the older man never let them reach the poor boy, but the fear was enough for Tsuna to learn quickly and Desmond would soon apologize afterwards.

Lastly, whenever Mamoru was teaching self-defense, he would get quiet and slightly irritated. His eyes would be a smoldering golden and he would push Tsuna to just beyond the boy's limits. This was, as Mamoru explained, a way to force him to fight even under the worst of conditions. Also, it was a way for Tsuna to know when to fight versus when to run away.

Like all things, the young brunette took to these methods slowly. It had been a year of training, but still the young boy could only climb over fences and crates really quickly. He often envied Mamoru, could climb a seemingly smooth wall with ease and jump across rooftops with incomparable grace. It was at these moments that Tsuna truly doubted his own ability, especially when he was knocked over every training session.

Shaking his head from his thoughts, Tsuna brought himself back to the present. It was rare when Desmond would change into one of his 'moods' outside of training. The more aggressive mood, the one that pronounced the scar on his lip and turned his eyes golden, rarely came out as it was. Something must have really been bothering his nii-chan to put him in this mood.

"M-Mamoru-nii-chan?" Snapping his head towards Tsuna, Mamoru sighed motioning for the kid to come and sit next to him. Said spiky-haired kid obliged, letting his legs swing side to side over the edge of the bed.

A sigh escaped the scarred man's lips, "Sorry about that _bambino, _I was . . .having a bad dream. Not to mention someone thought it would be a _great _idea to start a fight last night." Sarcasm laced his tone, causing Tsuna to giggle a bit. "Got in a few good punches before I was able to throw him out too, _Bastardo."_

Nodding in understanding, Tsuna shifted so that he was lying on his stomach next to Mamoru. "Neh, neh, nii-chan? Do you know what today is?" The foreign man furrowed his brows in confusion, trying to come up with something before shrugging in defeat. He was too tired to think straight anyhow. "It's your birthday!" The young boy exclaimed, a little put off that someone would forget their _own _birthday.

Mamoru blinked, reaching up to rub his chin and grimaced at the five o'clock shadow forming. He tried to remember the date, coming up with March 14th before shrugging once again, "I see . . . ." Yawning, the man rolled over, putting his feet onto the rough carpet below before addressing the other occupant in the room. "Hey, _Bambino, _out. I'm getting dressed."

Huffing in irritation, Tsuna marched out of the bedroom. He had prepared for this day! Ever since his nii-chan had baked him an Italian-cream cake (something he would be salivating over for days on end afterwards) for his birthday, he had saved up his money to be able to take Mamoru-nii-chan out for a nice dinner (he didn't want to bother with his atrocious cooking skills).

It irked him that Mamoru would forget his own birthday, not because of the planning that Tsuna put into today (although that was part of it), it was because it reminded Tsuna how his nii-chan didn't have anyone to remind him that it was his birthday. (Of course, there was Tsuna himself, but he hadn't mentioned it until today.)

Sighing sadly, it reminded him of his own birthday. He was excited because it was blatantly obvious that his mother was hiding something from him, thinking it had something to do with his birthday.

Unfortunately, it had _everything _and _nothing _to do with his special day. As it turned out, his so-called _father _had come home under the guise to visit his son for his birthday. This would have been _fine _had he not turned it into a reunion fest with his mother and swept her away for the weekend his birthday was supposed to take place.

He remembered that night like it was yesterday, it was when he received the best birthday present ever.

* * *

*Flashback*

* * *

_Tsuna ran from the house as his parents went upstairs to start packing for their vacation without him. He ran with all his might, not even bothering to look behind him or close the front door. This was supposed to be _his _day! Why, why, why, why did his _father _have to come and ruin it?!_

_Tsuna finally stopped when he came to a door. Noticing the number on the front, the boy recognized it as his nii-chan's apartment. Although he knew that Mamoru would be at work, he still knocked on the door in the futile attempt that he would be there._

_Breathing heavily, Tsuna knocked one more time before falling to his knees in exhaustion. Not used to the exercise, the poor boy could only wait as his shaking limbs calmed down. "Nii-chan . . . ." He called out pitifully, his throat clenching up and his eyes watering a bit in despair._

"_Tsuna-kun?" Whipping his head around at the sound, Tsuna saw his Nii-chan in his usual bartender uniform, a plastic bag held in one hand and a set of keys in the other. Confused, Tsuna could only tilt his head to the side, wondering what his Nii-chan could be doing here. "Tsunayoshi? What are you doing here so late?" _

_Tsuna blinked before looking down at his wrist-watch. The time read 10:14 P.M. Embarrassed, Tsuna started stuttering, "I-I didn't. I-I'm s-sorry. I was r-running a-and d-didn't notice w-where I was g-going." Mamoru didn't seem all that bothered by Tsuna's stuttering or crying, instead the older man pulled out a handkerchief and kneeled down to Tsuna's eye level and start cleaning up his face._

_When he was finished, Tsuna had finally stopped crying and instead watched as Mamoru folded up the piece of cloth and put it away, "Let's go inside, neh? It's a bit late for you to be out anyway. You can tell me what happened after we bake the cake okay?"_

_Silently, the young brunette let Mamoru unlock his apartment and lead him inside. Having been inside before, Tsuna took off his shoes and plopped himself down on the couch. As the living room was connected to the kitchen, Tsuna was able to observe his nii-chan's actions in the kitchen. Curiously, the boy watched as the man took out a lot of expensive looking ingredients, mixing up flour, sugar and . . .was that cream cheese? He took the batter and poured it into a lightly buttered pan before placing it inside of the pre-heated oven._

_Sighing in a mixture of exhaustion and relief, Mamoru made his way over to the couch and placed himself next to Tsuna. Nervously, Tsuna broke the silence with his broken question, "W-What's the c-cake f-for?"_

_Raising an eyebrow at the boy, Mamoru only chuckled before ruffling his hair in fondness. "Who else's birthday is tomorrow? It was supposed to be a surprise for when you came home from school, but I guess that it's okay. Your birthday is in like . . .five minutes anyway." His heart soaring at the prospect of his birthday being _remembered _was like a dream. Tsuna nodded his head enthusiastically, tears erupting from the corners of his eyes. "Now . . .will you tell me what's wrong?" _

_The gentle voice brought him out of his musings. Despite his obvious exhaustion, Mamoru- no - __**Desmond **__was listening intently. He wasn't yawning or looking away occasionally, like what his father or mother did, instead opting to stare at Tsuna with sincere, pleading eyes._

_Taking a deep breath, Tsuna re-told his tale of his so-called _father _coming home and his insistence of the vacation he was taking Nana on. He even went into his _father's _history in never being home and working in construction for some Italian company. Halfway through, the brunette found that he couldn't keep in his tears and futilely tried to wipe them away as he continued talking in broken words and sentences._

_Desmond didn't say anything, only pulling the boy in for a hug and stroking his hair in a calming manner. The now eleven-year-old boy held onto the older man like it was a lifeline, shaking as he abruptly ended his tale with his running to Desmond's apartment and collapsing outside. Kissing the brow of the boy's hair, the foreign man only rocked Tsuna back and forth, much like a mother would do for her child, until the tears and hiccups stopped._

"_Feeling better, Bambino?" Looking up at Desmond with slightly desolate eyes, the boy nodded, reluctantly pulling away. There was a resonating 'beep' as timer went off for the cake. "Well, let's see if it's done." Getting up from the couch, Desmond made his way over to the over. Testing the cake with a toothpick before taking it out with a set of oven mitts. "Alright, now to decorate it. You want to help, Tsuna-kun?"_

_Nodding slightly, Tsuna made his way over to the man and the cake sitting innocently on the counter. "First," Desmond's voice caught his attention, "We have to make the icing." On the side, Tsuna could see the cream cheese from earlier, lying next to some butter, sugar, vanilla and cream. _

_Taking out a bowl, Desmond placed it in front of Tsuna before handing him the ingredients, "First, the cream cheese. Eight ounces." Complying to the unspoken demand, Tsuna measured out the cream cheese and placed it into the bowl. "Next, the butter. Unsalted and half a cup." Seeing as how there were two different types of butters in front of him, the brunette read the labels and measured out the half cup before putting that too in the bowl. _

"_Okay, now put in a teaspoon of vanilla." Raising an eyebrow at the older man, Tsuna briefly wondered why he was doing this before taking the vanilla and twisting the cap. It didn't budge. Frustrated, Tsuna tried twisting it harder, but it wouldn't move a centimeter. Huffing, the boy turned to Desmond only to have the man shake his head, "Figure it out, Tsuna-kun. I can't help you with everything." Frowning slightly, Tsuna stared intently at the bottle of vanilla, trying to remember something, anything that would help him with opening it._

_Closing his eyes, a flashback of his mother holding a similar bottle under steaming water came to the forefront of his mind. Inspired, Tsuna went to the faucet, holding the tip of the bottle under hot water for a few minutes before trying to twist it open again. It worked. Flashing a grin at Desmond, Tsuna went forward to measure out a teaspoon before placing that too in the bowl._

"_Excellent! Now, three and a half cups of sugar." Nodding, Tsuna reached for the clear bag in front of him before he stopped. There were _two _clear bags. Suspicious, Tsuna opened one and reached inside for a pinch before tasting it. It was sweet. Still suspicious, the boy reached into the other bag and tasted a pinch of what was inside. It was still sweet. Looking over at Desmond with accusing eyes the man held up his hands in surrender. "Hey, hey, don't give me that look. Take this as a lesson that it's better to double check then to assume."_

_Pouting, Tsuna did as he was told and measured out three and a half cups of sugar, placing it into the bowl as well. "Alright, mixing this will be a bit difficult for you, so I'll do that. While I'm beating the ingredients together, I want you to add that cream periodically, alright?" Doing as he was told, Tsuna added in the cream whenever Desmond gave an indication for some. The man didn't stop beating the ingredients, instead concentrating on the mixture in front of him. _

"_That's enough." He said abruptly, stopping his movement to reach for the coconut shavings. "Now, we add this in." Tsuna couldn't help but lick his lips at the sight of the icing. It was pure white and looked insanely good. He absentmindedly wondered what it would look like on the cake._

_Giving Tsuna a lopsided grin, Desmond took out two butter knives and gave one to the boy. "Let's decorate!" Nodding, Tsuna eagerly dipped his knife into the concoction and splattered it onto the cake._

_As they continued to paint their masterpiece, Tsuna spoke up, "Why did you have me make the icing?" Desmond knew of Tsuna's bad cooking, had even tasted it on occasion, but had rarely commented or tried to correct it._

_Humming in his throat, the tanned man tilted his wrist to give the cake a smooth finish on his side, "It wasn't about cooking, if that's what you're asking." Putting down his butter knife, Desmond took out some food coloring and put in two drops of both yellow and red in the extra icing to make Tsuna's favorite color, orange. "It was about problem solving."_

_Tsuna watched as Desmond scooped up the orange icing into a ziplock bag, closing it and cutting off a corner. "You mean like . . .figuring out how to open the vanilla?"_

_Nodding, Desmond went over to the white-clad cake and started writing 'Happy Birthday!' in many different languages. The first being Japanese. "That and it was about figuring out what you _can _do, versus what you _should _do. For example: It was impractical for you to check both bags of sugar, as they would most likely both hold sugar, but you did anyway." __عيد ميلاد سعيد __was written on the cake next, but Tsuna was unsure of what language it was._

_Desmond continued, "It's a . . .cautionary thing I guess. Kind of like looking both ways before you cross the road." 'Buon Compleanno', 'Joyeux Anniversaire' and 'Happy Birthday' in English was added to the cake before there was only room for one more word. Finally '__ツナ' __was put onto the cake, making Tsuna smile slightly at his written name. Desmond set the icing down and looked over at the boy, "It's about learning what you can do in the situation you're in. Obviously, you can't read your parents minds, but you have a choice. You can hate them forever, ignore them indifferently, love them unconditionally, lay down some ground rules or even run away if it came to that." _

_Confused, Tsuna tilted his head to the side, silently asking him to continue. Desmond sighed ruffling his clean hand in Tsuna's spiky hair, "What I'm saying is 'Nothing is True' and 'Everything is Permitted'. You're binding yourself by other people's rules, when you should be making your own and obliging to those."_

_Still confused, Tsuna spoke up, "But . . .but rules are put in place for a reason!"_

_Nodding in confirmation, Desmond reached into a drawer and looked for something, "I agree, but some rules only apply to certain people and other rules are made for the benefit of the person in charge, not the ones following said rule. It's your job to figure out which rules are the best for yourself and the people you care most about. Don't let others control you just because what they say is the only option." _

_Pouting a bit, Tsuna looked down at his feet, unsure if he could ever think so freely. Sighing a bit in exasperation, Desmond pulled out a handful of candles before sticking them into the cake. There were ten surrounding the circular shape while an eleventh one was in the very middle. Taking out a box of matches and lighting the candles us, Desmond grinned at Tsuna before heading over to dim the lights in his apartment._

"_Don't worry too much about it Tsuna. Just know that when things seem tough and you have no other option that there is a way out of it. Sometimes, it's just harder to find or takes an incredible amount of patience. If it gets really bad, there are always compromises to consider, so don't worry about your parents. From what I can tell, you're a good enough kid, with or without them. Happy birthday, kiddo."_

_Smiling slightly Tsuna looked at the candles in front of him. It wasn't the words that he wanted to hear. Heck, he wasn't even sure if they were the right kind of words for this situation, but Tsuna understood. Desmond forced him to see the truth and thus forced him to understand. It wasn't perfect, but it was necessary. It was much better than the lies his father spewed. And it was all he really needed. _

_With that thought, the brunette blew out his candles, wishing for everything to be truly permitted._

* * *

_*End Flashback*_

* * *

Tsuna was interrupted from his thoughts as Mamoru stepped out of the bedroom. A fresh pair of jeans and t-shirt in place, the scarred man yawned widely, scratching his stomach from underneath his shirt. A new sweatshirt was adorned, instead of white, this one was a light gray with aqua trimmings. With his sleeves rolled up and his fingerless gloves missing, Tsuna could clearly see his intricate tattoo on his left arm and the bandage on his right.

"So, what's with all the excitement today?" Mamoru held an expression between tired and amused as he watched his little brother pout at the teasing tone. He really was a cute kid.

The small brunette shuffled in his spot, a little unsure of what to say. "Um, well, I want to take you out to dinner." Blinking, Mamoru thought through his hazy mind at what Tsuna just said before bursting out in laughter. Startled, Tsuna frantically looked at his nii-chan, wondering what prompted this sudden reaction. "D-did I say something wrong?"

Shaking his head in exasperation, the older man reached out and ruffled the kid's hair in fondness, all the while with his head to the side, trying to hold in his chuckles. "Sorry, sorry, but . . .the way you said it . . .it was like you were a-asking m-me out on a d-date." Not able to stand it anymore, Mamoru moved his hands to clutch at his stomach as the laughs just started rolling out.

Meanwhile, Tsuna was going over what he told his nii-chan before redness started creeping up his neck and onto the bridge of his nose. Puffing out his cheeks, Tsuna let out an embarrassed "Mou~" before grabbing his older brother's arm and correcting himself, "I want to buy your birthday dinner, if that's okay."

Mamoru's giggling eventually stopped, allowing the man to think over what Tsuna was offering. On one hand, it was a free meal. On the other, as an older brother he really shouldn't let Tsuna pay for something like that. Looking into the boy's eyes really intently, Mamoru stood there with an unbreaking gaze.

Tsuna stood still, not wanting to disturb the man's thinking process but stared back with what he hoped was equal intensity. Neither moved until Mamoru seemed to find something and pull back in what seemed to be disbelief. Blinking, the man grabbed Tsuna's head, holding in place before looking down at the wide, startled eyes.

For what felt like an eternity, the older man finally let him go with a slightly disturbed expression. Tsuna asked the question about dinner once more prompting Mamoru to absently nodding, and letting the boy lead him out of the apartment.

That gaze bothered Tsuna, but the boy let it go. Mamoru had his strange moments that he was quickly getting used to and although there were times when they frightened Tsuna, he knew that his big brother would never hurt him. And so, the little brunette led the larger brunette out onto the streets and towards Takasushi.

* * *

**Me: I have a tendency to remember everyone's birthdays but mine, so I really couldn't help it. If you couldn't tell, Tsuna will refer to Desmond as Mamoru more and more, only calling him Desmond when he's teaching him something or when the situation calls for it.**


	4. To Vanish

**Me: This chapter is in Desmond's POV. Hopefully it will give you some insight on what happened.**

* * *

'_This world is weird', _was Desmond's official thought as he pulled back from Tsuna's head. '_His eyes glowed orange for a bit.' _

Ever since the Assassin had landed in this world, he noticed that the people were . . .different. He sensed it before, but never really confirmed it until he activated his Eagle Vision. It was normal . . .at first. It wasn't until Desmond had notice the strange coloring coming from everyone's heart that he knew that something was _different. _

The most common of colors were red, blue, violet, green, purple, and yellow. Occasionally, the American man would see a darker shade of green, brown, pink or ,even rarer, an orange one. It had made the man slightly nervous. What if someone noticed that he didn't have a flame? _Should _he have a flame?

The nerves only got worse until, looking in the mirror with his Eagle Vision one day, Desmond concluded that he actually _did _have a flame. Only, it much different from the others. It wasn't really colored but silver, for one. More than that, it had an almost unnoticeable gold center, one that seemed to meld into the literal silver lining as it flickered with life.

At the time, the Assassin didn't really worry or ponder on it. He was too busy trying to reel in the Bleeding Effect, setting up a new identity and making his place in the world to even think about it. Now though, with him just relaxing and walking into a sushi bar with Tsuna, it was much easier to ponder.

Activating his Eagle Vision, Desmond looked around the restaurant, avoiding eye contact with Tsuna as he did so (the poor kid was scared of how his eyes turned golden). Most people either had a yellow or indigo hue near their hearts. He could occasionally spot a green or even a red, but the one odd color out was Tsuna's. The rare orange. The scarred man wondered what it meant, but dispelled those thoughts when a man came up from behind the counter asking for their order. Smiling at the calm blue near the man's heart, Desmond idly wondered why the man was encased in white instead of a normal gray before deactivating his Vision.

"Hello! Welcome to Takesushi! What can I do for you?" In front of the pair was a smiling older man wielding a knife with a cutting board in front of him. The foreigner smiled at the genuine greeting and calm atmosphere the man displayed before looking at the Sushi Chef's

Gndl.

The Assassin didn't show it, but the way he held the knife disturbed him. It reminded him of how old warriors would hold a . . . .Shaking his head to banish the thought before glancing over at the menu, Desmond chose the first thing that caught his eye, "The yellowtail tuna, please. Two platters and a bottle of sake." Nodding, the man got out his knife and went to work. Letting the two customers see his skills.

'_Impressive . . .'_Desmond almost purred in his mind. With every life that the Assassin had lived, there had always been a fascination for certain things they had carried. For Altair, it was the sword in early life and the hidden blade when he got older. Ezio preferred tinkering with the gun on his wrist (which accounted for several visits to Leonardo), and Connor loved his Tomahawk.

When Desmond was younger, he had an almost unhealthy obsession with the Japanese katana, that soon changed when he later learned about motorcycles. This love stuck with him, though, even as he got older. Looking at an obviously experienced Japanese swordsman work with a blade (any blade) was a real treat. Still, it unnerved the Assassin that the man in front of him was such an unknown. Hell, everyone was an unknown in this world. The weird flames didn't help any, neither did the lack of Assassins and Templars.

Oddly enough, the remittances of both groups were still here. Rome still had the Assassin Tombs and Monteriggioni still had the Auditore villa and the underground secret chamber, complete with the statue of Altair. Masyaf had been painful to go through, most of the fortress had been either rumble or close to it. Desmond was only able to find one chamber and that was Altair's library, along with what was left of his bones and robes.

He was also able to find evidence that the Borgia family were in league with the Templars. However, it seemed like that's where they started diminishing, until finally disappearing roughly two-hundred and fifty years later. Abstergo was never created and the Assassins only lasted long enough to help establish the United States. After a quick look in the White House with Eagle Vision, Desmond was able to determine the hidden spots, entryways and climbing routes that were undoubtedly created by the elusive group. It seems like after the creation of the country, that they just . . .vanished. He could only assume that with the Templars gone, the Assassins didn't have any real reason to keep going. The only reason they lasted as long as the 1700s was probably only them looking for the last of the Templars and wiping them out.

The one thing that did worry him though . . .was the lack of a solar flare and the sudden increase in power from the Mafia.

The Assassin was pulled out of his thoughts by the boy next to him, as he tugged on his sweatshirt sleeve. Smiling, Desmond averted his attention to Tsuna. The boy had been a reminder of the normal life he was finally able to live. No more running, no more solar flare and no more Animus. Still, old habits died hard, and so Desmond kept a couple of fake IDs and only paid in cash. "What's up kiddo?" He asked, eyeing the homework Tsuna had stuffed in his small hands.

"Uh, could you check my h-homework?" The brunette fidgeted under Desmond's questioning gaze. It was rare for Tsuna to stutter while talking to him anymore. The man said nothing, but held out a hand with an encouraging smile. The boy immediately relinquished the paper, a light blush dusting on the bridge of his nose.

Aware that the man across the counter was watching his movements, Desmond happily ignored him in favor of reading what was in front of him. Taking out a red pen that he had in his pocket from their last tutoring session and going through the problems with ease, the foreigner was surprised, but pleased, to find only four mistakes out of thirty. Clicking his tongue in thought, Desmond labeled the numbers wrong before handing the sheet back to Tsuna, pointing out his mistakes."Your problem isn't that you don't know which formula to use, it's the little mistakes. You panic and don't check it calmly, causing you to miss the little things."

Pouting, Tsuna took it back and started working on the marked problems. "Here's your sake! And don't you mean 'double check' the answers?" The old man across the counter said, sliding over a bottle and cup of alcohol. Desmond, used to such things, waved his already out ID, earning a nod in conformation.

"Nah, I'm not worried about him double checking, he does that on his own, his problem is his confidence. It doesn't matter how many times you look over something, you're never going to find what you're looking for if you don't keep a clear head." The man seemed to pause in his knife work, opening one eye to observe Desmond, his smile never leaving his face.

Desmond shrugged and looked over to watch Tsuna work the problems. Eyebrows furrowed, the boy concentrated hard on his homework. His tongue was peaking out from the side as his hesitant hands wrote down new numbers.

It wasn't long after this that the sushi was placed in front of them along with wasabi and soy sauce as well. The foreigner looked over at the boy, whose sole focus was on the paper in front of him, before shaking his head and plucking the paper out of his grasp. "You can do that later." Tsuna blinked before looking at the food placed in front of him with a sheepish smile.

"Thanks, nii-chan." Was his response before plucking a piece of sushi from his platter and placing it in his mouth. Rolling his eyes this time, Desmond took the pen away from Tsuna's other hand and placing a pair of chopsticks in it instead. Blinking again, the boy laughed a bit awkwardly before using the utensils instead of his fingers.

Taking a sip of his sake, Desmond looked over the crowd of people, this time without his Eagle Vision. He smiled a little sadly at the obvious displays of family and friends from the small community. This world seemed so . . .peaceful. With no constant war, no Ones That Came Before and no 'enslaving of the human race' going on, it seemed like Desmond landed in a world where he was able to just . . .relax.

Looking over at his alleged little brother, Desmond swore that he would keep it peaceful. If only for Tsuna's sake.

* * *

**Me: Maaaah~ Trying to ensure that things are Cannon to a point is difficult. Especially since I haven't played the games in so long~**

* * *

*Omake*

As Desmond finished the last of his sushi and a scarred hand started taking it away, a thought occurred to him. He looked over at Tsuna, who was also just polishing off his meal, and wondered if the boy knew.

" . . .Hey, Tsuna-kun?" He tried to get the boy's attention. It wasn't difficult, as the eleven-year-old turned his head toward his Nii-chan.

"Yes, Mamoru-nii-chan?" Wide brown eyes blinked owlishly, as tiredness started to settle in. "Did you like the Birthday dinner?"

The older man couldn't help but smile, "Yeah, it was great, thank you, but I was wondering if you knew the date?"

Blinking again, Tsuna answered, this time a little slowly, "It's . . .March thirteenth right? Your birthday?"

Ah, so that confirmed his suspicions. Smiling gently at the boy, Desmond shook his head, "Nope. It's the fourteenth. Sorry, you're a day late."

" . . . ."

" . . . ."

" . . . ."

" . . . ?"

"HIEEEEEEEEEEE?!"


	5. To Forget

~ Three Months Later ~

Tears welled up in the corner of his eyes as he bit his bottom lip in an effort to cry and control his crying. He wouldn't cry. He _would not cry. _Steeling his nerves, the brunet curled up in on himself, a blanket on his shoulders, as he rocked back and forth on Mamoru's couch. The first part was bad enough . . .and now this? Tsuna didn't know how long he would last. His heart was pounding as fists clenched in frustration at not being able to _do anything!_

"Tsuna-kun? What are you doing?" Mamoru said, completely baffled as he watched the boy stare at the TV in complete concentration. As he received no reply, the man went over to stand behind Tsuna. Reaching out with his left hand, a flash of a similar hand came to view, only with the ring finger missing. Hesitating, Mamoru closed his eyes and took a deep breath before continuing to lightly shake the boy's shoulder. When he opened his eyes, he was amused to see Tsuna's spikes shaking along with the kid. He didn't dare look at his hand to see if his finger was still there.

Turning around to face his nii-chan, Tsuna tried wiping his tears away to no avail. "I-I'm watching a m-movie about a g-guy whose wife was m-murdered and he h-had to raise his son on h-his own. U-until his s-son was k-kidnapped by some bad men a-and he w-went after t-them!" The poor boy was practically in tears from the movie. Hearing the plot, Mamoru couldn't help but think that it was probably meant for an older audience, resulting in how much it scared him.

Sighing sympathetically, the man only patted the boy on the back before turning his attention to the TV for the first time. Blinking in confusion at what he saw, it took a full ten seconds for him to realize just what Tsuna was watching.

"Tsuna-kun?"

A sniff echoed through the room, "Yes, Nii-chan?"

"You do know that Finding Nemo is a kid's movie right?" The man felt like facepalming at the entire situation that occurred over a _Pixar movie. _Tsuna didn't answer, opting to instead bite his bottom lip as frustration as embarrassment came over , Mamoru left the room to check on dinner, only to come back a few minutes later. "It's not meant to scare you, you know."

"I'm not scared." Although Mamoru had heard that statement from Tsuna before, it was mostly him trying to put on a front, to pretend to be brave. The finality in his tone, however, made the older man pause in consideration. Looking at the movie, that was now showing a frustrated Marlin arguing with Dory, Mamoru couldn't help but think there was more to Tsuna's thought then what he was showing.

Climbing over the couch to sit next to Tsuna, the foreigner looked over at the boy next to him, watching his expressions carefully, "Why does this movie make you upset, Tsuna-kun?" The small brunet flinched, curling in on himself even more as he stared at the screen.

"A-are all fathers l-like that?" For a second, Mamoru didn't understand what he was asking. Looking back at the screen, he mouthed an 'oh' as he looked at the fish Marlin.

To be fair, he hadn't seen the movie since he first bought it, so it took a little while for him to recall what actually happened. Remembering Marlin and how he acted as a father, Mamoru hummed to himself in thought before replying, "Not all are exactly like him, if that's what you're wondering." Glancing over for the boy's reaction and finding none was a bit disturbing, but he let it go and continued, "Most are . . .caring I guess, like Marlin. But again, not every father is the same."

Sighing to himself, the man wondered how he would get his point across. It isn't like his own childhood was anything to go off of. His father had hated him. No, that wasn't quite right. He was just . . .always disappointed in whatever he'd done. Mamoru supposed that whatever relationship Tsuna had with his father was just as bad, if not worse. At least his father was _around _somewhat.

"Would . . ." Tsuna's voice broke him out of his thoughts, his neck snapping over to look at the poor boy, silently prompting him to continue. "Do you t-think my f-father would go out of his w-way to r-rescue me?"

Oh, what a sad way of putting it. 'Out of his way.' '_Out of his way.' _Like the boy was a damn inconvenience. If Mamoru ever saw Tsuna's father, he would give the guy a shiny black eye to match that goddamn heart of his. And while he's at it, he'll have a few words with his mother. How could someone _miss _what Tsuna was feeling? How could someone _ignore _this?

Sighing to himself once again - he seemed to be doing that a lot lately - Mamoru knew that he couldn't lie to the boy. Not with something as important as this. "I don't know, Tsuna-kun. I don't know your father well enough." The slumping of the boy's shoulders told him everything about how he was feeling. Mamoru's heart nearly broke at the teary-eyed expression in those hazel eyes, that were now turning a dull orange. "But-" He spoke a little too quickly, trying to distract the kid, but unsure of what he was really going to say. Groaning in frustration the man continued to run his mouth from his heart instead of his brain as he couldn't really put the thoughts together, "Look, what I'm saying is it doesn't matter. Cause if you were kidnapped, I'd go after you in a heartbeat. I am not about to let my little brother deal with something like that on his own."

"Will you leave too? Like _he did?" _

". . .I can't promise that I won't, but I can promise to always come back when you need me."

"Even if it's for something stupid? Like helping me with my homework?"

"Tsuna. You wanting me to be here is not _stupid, _much less if you have a reason. _If _I do leave, just know that I'll probably only be a phone call away."

"And if you're not?"

"Then send me a letter, email me or even send a smoke signal, I don't care. I'd probably come back to check on you on my own anyway."

"What if you're busy with work?"

". . .Like your father?"

". . .Yeah . . ."

"Even then. Even then I'd come. I promise."

". . .You won't leave without telling me right?"

"You'll be the first to know."

Tsuna sat quiet in thought as he looked at the screen in thought. Sea turtles surfed in the water as Marlin learned something else about parenting from his new-found friends. "Ne . . .nii-chan?"

"Mm?" Mamoru's head lolled to looked at Tsuna with an almost lazy expression.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" Furrowing his brow in confusion, the foreigner wracked his brain for what he was missing until he sniffed the air.

Was . . .was that smoke?

Scrambling to get to his feet, Mamoru dashed to the kitchen in an attempt to save the dinner he was making, to no avail. Hearing Tsuna laughing in the background was a good sign though, even if he had to sacrifice his steak for it. He'd kick the brat's ass later for that anyway.

Looking mournfully at his once-dinner, Mamoru made a decision before throwing away the wasted food and grabbing his jacket, keys and wallet. "C'mon, brat. We're going out for ramen instead." At least ramen was cheap.

* * *

~Nine Months Later~

* * *

Desmond wrapped his leather jacket around himself tighter as he wrapped the leather bands around his arms tighter. The chill in the air didn't disappear like he had hoped and his fingers seemed to like the idea of falling off.

Oh, how he missed the desert at the moment. Or even the muggy Italian humidity. He even wished that he could run through the city in an effort to warm himself up, much like Connor did in his forests, but no, he had to stay where he was.

Looking at his watch, Desmond refrained from tucking his hands under his arms in an attempt to get warm. Activating his Eagle Vision, the man looked through the crowd from his partially-hidden space. Most of the people showed up as grey and the ramen-stand owner to the left even shined a faint white. However, the one that caught his eye was the bright blue to his right, sitting on a park bench.

Swallowing tightly, Desmond brought his hood over his eyes and his scarf around his neck and blended in with the crowd. Sitting on the bench as nonchalantly as possible, on the man's right-hand side, the Assassin folded down his left right finger and kept his hand displayed. The man only glanced at the hand before leaning back and throwing his own scarf over his face. "So, you're 'Katon'?"

Desmond only made a noise in confirmation and decided to get straight to business, "I'll pay when I'm given some of the information." In the underground world, this was a fair deal, especially since information-brokers could be killed in a second if they give out fake information for money. The fact that the Assassin was willing to give the man a fair chance, showed not only a willingness to work with him, but also to not kill him, even if the information was wrong.

The man beside him grunted, "It's true that the Ninth's heirs were mysteriously killed, and his adopted son has been . . .in confinement."

Tapping his fingers on his knee, Desmond reached into his boot and pulled out a wad of Yen wrapped in a paper back. Playing with it for a few minutes as if it were trash, the Assassin made a scene of him sighing and putting it in-between him and the man. After leaving it alone for a full minute, the man grabbed it, checked the money inside and hid it from view with his jacket. "Rumor has it that the son of the CEDEF sector of Vongola is to be chosen as the next heir. Though, no one in 'our' world even knew that Iemitsu even had a kid, it is known that he is a descendant of Primo." Desmond didn't like looking into people's personal lives, but Tsuna's father had been way too suspicious for his tastes. Never home? Italian construction? His ass, there was something going on and he was right.

"And Enrico, Federico and Massimo are dead?"

"Killed by each other they say but I heard different. I think Xanxus had a hand in this. Whoever the next heir is will be in big trouble in a few years, I'd assume. At least we're sure they're dead, there were bodies, saw them myself."

Not having known Enrico or Massimo, the man didn't really feel any sympathy for them. Federico, though, had helped him a few times when he had been in Italy and despite being Mafia, was a good friend who knew how to hold his liquor and his tongue. Still, these deaths were unsettling, especially since Desmond knew these men to be strong in their own right.

Desmond pondered this for a long time, his thoughts drifting over to a young brunet who was probably planning some Christmas celebration. The foreigner had never really celebrated Christmas, as it was believed throughout the Assassins that Jesus was a Templar, but he couldn't help the warm feeling he got at the kid's excitement.

Putting his mind back to the present, the Assassin licked his lips in nervousness, "And Xanxus? Do you think he would be able to escape?"

The man gave a long-suffering kind of sigh before looking at Desmond like he was some chump who would easily lose a poker game. "It's not a matter of 'if' but 'when'. Despite the Ninth's capabilities, he still holds a soft spot for his sons. That ice prison he's in wasn't created out of the whole-heartedness of wanting his son imprisoned. As such, you can guess that it's weaker than usual. I give it a few years, tops."

Scowling, Desmond clenched his hands into fists, angry at the thought of Tsuna being forced to fight anyone, especially someone that strong. There was no way the Assassin could prepare him in time, even if he gave him the most rigorous training program he could come up with. He also knew that he couldn't protect the boy on his own, unless he also went through some intense training and he couldn't do that while training Tsuna. There were people in the Mafia world that would be better suited to training the boy, but Desmond couldn't imagine Tsuna going along with them fully as he saw his 'Mamoru-nii-chan' as his mentor now.

"Tell me." Desmond hesitated, he didn't want to do this, but the plan was forming in his mind already and the more he thought about it, the more it promised the best results. "Where can I find a Dying Will trainer?"

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~One year later~

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Looking over at the clock in apprehension, Mamoru wondered for the thousandth time if he was doing the right thing. His old white sweatshirt was on, along with some blue jeans and a black t-shirt. His stuff was already packed and the apartment was going to be put up for rent in a few days.

Now, he only had to tell Tsuna.

Rubbing his sweaty palms on his knees, Mamoru looked up as Tsuna walked in the front door. Looking over at the boy, he could tell that something was wrong by the way he carried himself. Concerned, the man got up from the couch only to see the thirteen-year old shake his head. "You're leaving aren't you?"

Nodding, Mamoru motioned for Tsuna to sit next to him, to which the boy did. "I-I had a feeling. B-but y-you have a g-good reason?" The boy looked up at him with wide honey eyes, tears gathering at the ends of them.

Mamoru nodded, kneeling in front of the kid before explaining himself, "I am and I'm sorry, but I have to." Shaking his head to himself, the man wondered how he was going to do this. "Tsuna-kun, there's something coming soon that's going to put you in a lot of danger. Don't ask me what it is, I can't tell you. I don't think you would want to know anyway." Pausing, the man patted the boy's knee before continuing, "I am not strong enough to protect you and you are not strong enough to protect yourself. As such, I cannot train you in time, but there are others who can." Mamoru licked his lips in nervousness, "I think that, that person is going to be coming soon, so I know you'll be in good hands. Because of this, I'm going away to train so that I can come back and protect you better than before."

"But I don't want you to protect me! I just want you-!"

Mamoru cut him off, "I know! Tsuna-kun, trust me, I know. But this isn't about what you want, it's about what I want. And I want to protect my little brother as best I can." Fingering the cold metal in his pocket, the man continued, "Furthermore, I . . .don't think you will be able to train properly because of my influence. I believe that, subconsciously, you will continue to think of me as your mentor and not be able to learn properly under the new person assigned to you."

"T-then how would I learn? How can I learn to defend myself?"

Mamoru hesitated before answering, "Y-you would need to forget m-me."

"What?! How can I do that?! You're my nii-chan! I would never forget you!" Tsuna was outraged. How could Mamoru even suggest that he could do that?

Emotionally exhausted, the Assassin looked at Tsuna with tears and defeat in his eyes, "I can . . .seal your memories away. I have already gotten the object that allows be to do so." Stunned Tsuna could only watch as his alleged brother backed up on his knees and bowed with his forehead to the floor, "I'm sorry Tsuna-kun, but I couldn't erase your memories of me without you at least knowing why I did so." Getting up and wiping away his tears in the process, Mamoru continued, "Not only would it allow you to train properly, but it would save you the pain of knowing me if I . . .couldn't come back. Please, please understand that I'm not doing this because I want you to forget about me, but that it's the only way I know to protect you."

The boy couldn't believe what he was hearing. His older brother was going to _erase his memories _of their time together. He understood why he was doing it, but he was also unhappy. He didn't want to forget. He didn't want to be alone again. "Nii-chan . . .what about you?" He couldn't help but ask it. What would happen to Mamoru? Would he forget too? Would he also be alone, like before? "Will you use the device to erase your memories?"

Mamoru shook his head, "I . . .can't. Tsuna-kun, I would never forget you. I couldn't forget you, even if I tried." Shaking his head, the boy tried to tell him that, that was not what he meant! But the words wouldn't come, his throat was too closed up with the oncoming tears.

Before Tsuna could gather himself, Mamoru took out a golden sphere from his pocket. Something was screaming at Tsuna that this was the device he was talking about, that if that thing came near him, he would lose everything, but it was too late. It was too close from the beginning. And as a light shined throughout the room, Tsuna could only look on in astonishment as a faint whisper reached his ears, "It'll be okay Tsuna. You don't have to forgive me, but as long as you're safe I don't really care." Strong arms wrapped around him in a tight hug and the brunet couldn't help but wonder who they belonged too. Who was that voice anyway? Where was he? He felt so warm.

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**Me: If you have any questions involving consistency or Desmond and Tsuna's relationship, just PM me and I'll be glad to answer.**


	6. To New Heights

**Me: Hello~ As you probably do not know, this fanfiction is ended. This is the first part to the series that I am writing and a sequel will be coming out very shortly~ In the meantime, I'll give you guys a little preview of what is to come. The sequel will be called 'Per Nascondere Nel Cielo'. **

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The second Tsuna met the strange baby claiming to be his tutor, he ran.

It was four months ago that the brunet realized he had little to no purpose to go to school. Everyone bullied him, his attraction to his crush was slowly disappearing and everything taught there was boring. Slowly, the boy found himself skipping school more and more, if only to walk through the city or lock himself in his room. It wasn't until now that his mother confronted him about it.

"Tsu-kun, a home tutor is coming today." '_Oh hell no_!' Those were the words that had him scrambling to put his street clothes on -a pair of jeans and a white hoodie with orange trimmings- and bolt out of there. Grabbing only his wallet and cell phone, he vaulted over the stairs and out the door. He was only stopped when he almost tripped over a baby in a fedora.

"Ciaossu~!" The baby said in obvious Italian (although how he knew it was Italian, he wasn't sure), causing Tsuna's thoughts to go haywire. 'Who is this?' 'Where's the home tutor?' 'Is he lost?'.

Crouching down to the kid's eye level, Tsuna wondered what the kid was even doing here, "Hey, are you lost? Where are your parents?"

Before the kid could respond, a resounding "TSU-KUN!" came from inside the house. No doubt his mother was irritated at him for vaulting over her stairs and running away again.

Biting his lip, Tsuna turned back to the kid in obvious discomfort. "Look, I can't help you right now, but if you go to my mother, the woman who will be barging out of that door, she'll be able to take you to wherever you need to go. I gotta go before she catches me!" Running around the strange baby in the fedora, the brunet bolted down the street, climbing over the fence and headed into the city.

Taking a break from running ten minutes later, the boy tightened his shoelaces and pulled his hood over his head before walking the rest of the way to his unknown destination. It didn't take long for the taller buildings to come into view, Namimori was a small town, after all. So Tsuna stuck to the crowds that were erupting, naturally blending into the background before taking a seat at a park bench.

Tsuna wondered when things had changed for him. It still felt the same, but ever since he woke up in that abandoned apartment a few months ago he felt . . .unnerved, to say the least. His homework suddenly felt ten times easier and his body lighter, more graceful. Still, he kept his grades on the low side for fear of being accused of cheating and hid his athletic prowess from the . . .less forgiving of his peers.

That wasn't even the weirdest part. It was the feelings he held for his parents and peers as well. He still loved his mother, but there were times when he just felt so tired with having to deal with her. The smoldering hate he used to carry around for his father was gone, replaced with an indifference that Tsuna didn't even know he was capable of feeling. It almost felt like he didn't even have a father. Hell, he started referring to the man as 'Iemitsu' instead of 'dad' in his head. His crush on Kyoko-chan had dulled to friendly affection and his fear of Mochida was more annoyance than actual fear.

He still held a healthy fear of the prefect, Hibari, but it was more . . .cautionary then panicked. Like he knew that he wasn't at Hibari's level and probably shouldn't engage him, even accidentally. So, with that thought, he started arriving to school on time, if he even bothered to come.

What freaked him out the most though was that all of these changes happened literally overnight. That wasn't normal no matter how you looked at it.

Looking at the time on his phone, Tsuna decided that his mom had probably cooled down enough for him to go home. Letting down his hood, the brunet was about to get up before he heard a strangely familiar high-pitched voice, "Ciaossu." Looking over next to him, Tsuna saw the strange baby from earlier. "Are you Sawada Tsunayoshi?" Blinking in confusion; the teen debated with himself whether or not he should answer the kid.

Before he could really make up his mind, his mouth moved ahead of him, "A-ah, I am. And who might you be. . . ?" It felt strange addressing a baby with such a polite demeanor, but something told him that this was the right thing to do.

A smirk appeared on the fedora-wearing baby's face, causing a shiver to run down Tsuna's spine. "I am your new tutor, Reborn."

Oh_ fuck_. The brunet could only hope that his legs could carry him far enough.

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**Me: Enjoy my minio- I mean . . .my readers . . . .**


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